Bullock aims to attract top talent

What happens if Town Manager Dave Bullock’s wife accidentally backs over him with their boat, or he’s struck by a bus or a beer while crossing the street?

After hearing commissioners toss out three what-ifs about his possible demise during a discussion about his eventual replacement at Monday’s workshop, Bullock begged them to stop.

“I respectfully request no commissioners come up with any more scenarios about how I go out,” Bullock said.

Joking aside, Bullock said he plans to fill the assistant town manager position he created three years ago by the end of the year.

“I’m going to have to have someone help me here, especially if the referendum passes on undergrounding,” Bullock said. “There’s a pile of work to do, and I don’t have an appetite for a slower pace.”

Bullock said he’s relied heavily on Ross, who leaves the town for her new Lakewood Ranch executive director post Oct. 28.

“She does all sorts of special projects that never really saw the public light of day,” Bullock said. “I need that position to move things in a timely manner.”

Commissioners wondered if they should provide input on the pending hire and help decide who could fill Bullock’s role as town manager during an emergency.

“What are your plans?” asked Mayor Jack Duncan.

Bullock didn’t divulge much and declined the offer for them to provide input for his next hire.

“If you’re asking me to publicly pick one staff member that could do that, I’m not real interested in that,” he said.

Bullock, though, does welcome input from commissioners on what kind of attributes they would like to see for his eventual replacement.

“At some point, it would be good to provide attribution for a future town manager and the kind of person you want,” Bullock said. “It may be changed by future commissions, but you have opportunity to provide the public what you want in a town manager, and that description probably won’t change much over time.”

In the meantime, Bullock said he has no plans to retire any time soon, even though he’s beginning the  fifth year of a five-year commitment he gave the commission when he was hired in October 2011.

“I’m having fun and doing some cool stuff,” Bullock said. “My wife and I have talked about this a lot, and I just don’t have a date.”

Bullock, through, reminded commissioners his contract requires him to give 90 days notice before he departs. And Bullock said he intends to give commissioners even more than 90 days to find a replacement.

“I would work to create an orderly transition at the appropriate time,” he said.

Bullock also told commissioners he’s confident his department heads can help run the town in an emergency situation.

“The work I produce is produced through department heads ,and it’s not my style to hold stuff and keep it away from others,” Bullock said. “You have a department head group through which you could pick someone to keep moving forward. Then you would do a search that would produce very qualified candidates.”

Commissioners were pleased with Bullock’s plan of action.

“The town manager has developed a stronger staff than what he inherited,” said Vice Mayor Terry Gans. “It’s my goal this will be even a more desirable place to work than when we hired Dave. The path we’ve been on is the right one.”

Bullock said the town will have no problem finding a pool of “very qualified candidates” interested in being town manager.

“Part of what I do is stimulate interest in what I do by telling others all the time I have the best job in the state,” Bullock said. “And I do have the best job in the state.”